"Two enemies approaching from the left, can you handle them?" Frank asked over the intercom while trying to avoid the laser fire from the attacker behind him.

"I’m trying, but I my weapons aren’t back online yet!" said Jennie as she fiddled with her control panel.

Jennie gained altitude and headed toward the two bogies approaching from the left. Meanwhile, Frank did several U Turns and Somersaults, but nothing seemed to shake the enemy behind him. Frank then tried a new technique of his, while Jennie lured her bogies to a rather rocky part of the planet’s terrain. She headed straight for the tip of one of the mountains. Then, at the last minute she rose very slightly, while the ships following got the undersides of their ships badly damaged, puncturing their fuel tanks. Shortly afterward, she managed to get partial weapons back online. The ships chasing her were heavily shielded, so she tried a different approach. She dropped altitude, turned around, targeted the engine leaks, and fired. The bright orange fireballs that followed signaled her victory, while Frank flew over to take care of the ships that Jennie had already destroyed.

"Good shooting, Jennie," congratulated Frankenroc over the intercom.

"Thanks," replied Jennie, "but it was really nothing that hard!"

Chuck and Ice joined them several moments after, signaling victory on all ends.

"SIMULATION OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHED! CONGRATULATIONS!" said the computer control as the holographic matrix shut down and the CEF returned to the real base.

"You’ve really got some flying skills there! I guess that’s why we chose you!" said Chuck as he and Jennie got out of their ships. In fact, Jennie constantly got congratulations from all the other three members of the CEF. She felt that she truly found a place for herself in the Cornerian Military. Star Fox was a great team, but flying on the Cornerian Elite Force was a dream come true for Jennie.

Frank then got an idea and told Jennie, "Well, I think we’ve finally finished your CEF training. You’ve been on the Cornerian Elite Force for exactly one month now, and to celebrate, let’s go to the bar!"

Jennie thought about it and immediately accepted, so she, Frank, Chuck, and Ice all went to the "G-Diffuser," one of the best-known and best bars in the ranks of the Cornerian Military. The "G-Diffuser" was a great hangout for all members of the military. From first year cadets to Star Fox and CEF pilots, you could find people and species from all walks of life, some of which you never knew even existed! Frank somehow managed to get an empty table, even if it was covered with exotic peanut shells. Chuck simply used his arm to swipe all the peanut shells off the table and onto the floor.

"Looks like a busy day today!" Frank commented as he looked over to Jennie listening to the rock music in the background. Frank thought and then yelled, "I SAID IT LOOKS LIKE A BUSY DAY TODAY!"

Jennie simply turned her head toward Frank and asked loudly enough to be heard, "I’m sorry, did you say something?"

Frank simply said, "I just said it seemed busy," as the music started to get a lot quieter.

Jennie agreed just as the waiter got to the table. The waiter looked a little tired today, but he tried to act his best around the military members that were considered to be the best of Corneria. As he got his order pad out, he asked, "So what can I get the members of the Cornerian Elite Force?"

Frank thought a bit and said, "I’ll have an ‘Andross Overflow.’"

Chuck, agreeing with Frank’s order, said, "Make that 2."

Jennie said, "I guess I’ll go with the ‘Cornerian Breeze.’"

As the waiter wrote down what Jennie wanted, he turned toward Ice who responded, "Just an old-fashioned Pandorian Ale, please."

"Excellent choice, sir. I’ll be right back with your drinks," replied the waiter as he compiled the orders.

Frank gave a sigh of relief as he thought back on these last two months as commander of the Cornerian Elite Force. His teammates simply resumed talking with Jennie about her excellent performance in the CEF. Moments later, the team's ordered drinks had arrived as the waiter stood nervously before the CEF. He then managed to ask, "This may sound silly, but may I have your autographs?"

Frank simply smiled; knowing this was coming sooner or later. He took one of the cardboard coasters from the pile on the side of the table and signed his name on one of the corners on the coaster. He passed it on to Chuck, who signed his name and continued the process. When it got back to Frank, he smiled even more, almost to the point of a light laugh, and handed the autographed coaster to the waiter. The waiter excitingly looked at it and kissed the coaster as if it were some valuable treasure, which to the waiter it was! The waiter then realized he was still standing in front of the team as they stared at him. The waiter simply smiled in thanks and walked of nervously.

As he left, the CEF simply laughed in unison. They all knew they were popular, but this was still quite funny. As they regained their composure, Chuck raised his glass and said, "I propose a toast… to the newest member of the CEF."

Ice, in accordance, rose his glass as he continued the toast, saying, "To all those nervous waiters out there who want our autographs."

As the team laughed again, Jennie rose her glass and continued by saying, "To the best team in the Cornerian Military!"

As they all agreed with Jennie, Frank thought a moment and said, "To our member missing in action, Loom Day. Where ever he his, he is also embarking on a new journey."

As the CEF members paused in silence for their lost comrade, they all moved their glasses toward the center, eventually touching the other glasses, and each of them took a sip from their drinks of choice. Then they all started joyfully chatting about their victory on Planet Venom last month. They also wondered if they would ever see Loom again, wondering if there was some way that he could have escaped the realm that Neo-Andross banished him to through the black hole. Before long, their drinks were almost empty as they realized it was time to get back to the base. After arriving at the team quarters of the base, the team members split up and headed toward their rooms.

Frank could hardly sleep, so he started reading history on the computer. History always put him to sleep! He decided to look up the Military Archives, specifically the Star Fox Team. Over 60 years ago, a three-man Star Fox Team was sent to Venom to investigate strange activity. One of the members, Pigma Dengar, betrayed the team and captured James McCloud. Peppy barely escaped and returned home. James’ son, Fox, decided to join the Cornerian Military after hearing this news. After a few years, Fox himself led the Star Fox team. It seems Fox’s quest for revenge was carried out, as he alone held back Andross for a few years. This was required learning at the Cornerian Academy. But Frank decided to go a little further along the time line. Where Fox and his sister, Fana McCloud, started flying together. Fana came along after a few years and flew along with the Star Fox team. After her first mission, she was nearly killed and resigned from the Cornerian Military all together. She then disappeared for a few years. One day, Fox bumped into Fana accidentally. He saw that she was now married and had a young son, named after his grandfather, James. After a reluctant decision, she rejoined the Cornerian Air Force and flew with the team once again.

Now this was kind of interesting, instead of putting Frank to sleep, it got him interested in studying the history of Fox’s sister, Fana McCloud. He then read about her joining the Cornerian Air Force and how she usually tried to stay as far away from her brother as possible. He then came upon a mysterious end, when she was vanished without a trace over 50 years ago, after nearly being killed by a surprise Venomian attack on planet Katina. It was tragic for Fox, but Frank then found out that her disappearance convinced Fox to replace General Pepper 10 years later. After replacing General Pepper, Fox vowed to find his sister one day. This was rather interesting for Frank, but his fatigue had finally caught up to him and he was in a sound sleep less than 5 minutes later.

The next morning, in the docking bay for the EF Ships, he found Jennie tinkering with HIS ship. Frank was a little mad at first, but then he decided to ask what she was doing. Frank simply stared at her until she realized he was there, which is when she quickly gathered her tools and stopped working on the ship.

Frank asked, "Jennie, what are you doing to my ship?"

"Oh, I’m just installing an advanced towing beam on all the ships, yours simply is the first one on the list!"

"Was it approved by General McCloud?"

Jennie answered, "Yes, in fact, he suggested tweaking the EF Ships so that they’re very powerful."

Frank shrugged and continued the inquiry with, "How exactly is it advanced?"

Jennie smiled at the fact that Frank wasn’t really mad anymore and said, "It has a more concentrated beam, so you can tow smaller objects. It also has a longer range than the standard. But it still has to be tested, so the standard beam still works right now."

"Ok, sounds great, I’ll have to test it sometime!"

Frank smiled as Jennie smiled back. Frank never knew that Jennie was such a good mechanic! He was afraid to admit it, but he had a small crush on her from the moment she entered the CEF. They started moving closer to each other, and looking into each other’s eyes, knowing what the other was thinking. They were moving together very slowly, when suddenly an announcement came over the intercom:

Frank and Jennie acted disoriented at first, shaking their heads while trying to regain their composure. They then realized what they were about to do, so they just stopped and headed toward the general’s office as if nothing were happening. After the team members had passed their iris scans, they all entered the grand office of General McCloud. As the general turned around to face them, the CEF members immediately stood at attention.

General McCloud simply rolled his eyes and said, "Don’t do that! I know I’m the general but you don’t have to do that all the time! Trust me, General Pepper said the same thing to me when I popped to attention every time he came around!"

The team members simply went at ease as General McCloud explained, "We are again experiencing strange activity coming from planet Venom. It seems that the disturbance is above the planet’s atmosphere, but we are to far away to know what it is. Since you need to fly some actual missions, I’m sending you out there to investigate. Simply scan the disturbance and report back. Understood?"

The CEF popped to attention, then realized that General McCloud said not to do that every time, so they quickly returned to the "at ease" position and unanimously said, "Understood, sir!"

General McCloud just sighed as he said, "Dismissed."

The CEF Members quickly ran down the hall toward their ships. They all hopped into the EF vessels and sped off. As soon as they left the planet’s atmosphere, they engaged the light speed drive. It would be a few minutes until they reached Venom, so Frank took this opportunity to explain to Jennie.

Frank tapped a few buttons on the control panel and opened a private communication line to Jennie. Frank sighed as he said, "Jennie, about what almost happened there in the docking bay, I…"

Jennie interrupted him with, "I know, I know." She then smiled at him. Frank smiled back as he closed the communications line. About a minute later they approached planet Venom. As they deactivated the light speed drives; they stared at what caused the disturbance. There was a large black portal within the outer atmosphere of Venom. This portal resembled that of the one that Loom was pulled into a month ago. Jennie quickly scanned the phenomenon and warned everyone to keep their distance as not to be pulled in.

Frank decided to send a probe into the phenomenon. He tapped a couple buttons on the panel in front of him and launched the probe. He gathered data from the probe as it approached the black hole. As he got data about the probes gravitational forces, the probe suddenly disappeared into the strange force. From the data gathered so far, it seemed that this was created from the huge explosion that signaled their victory against Neo-Andross a month ago. Evidently, during the explosion, forces of the powers of Andross were released creating this phenomenon, and now those forces were converging to create this – whatever it was!

Soon afterward, Frank noticed that he was again receiving telemetry from the probe, now on the other side. The visual appeared to be that of Corneria. Frank wondered if this was actually from the other side or just an echo of what was on this side. Suddenly, the portal started to twist and contort. Even more than that, it started to grow. The gravitational forces strengthened, starting to pull the ships into it.

Frank ordered, "ALL ENGINES, FULL REVERSE!" As the team complied, their ships started to rumble. The opposite forces of the engines and the gravitational pull caused this. Soon, all the ships’ engines cut out, and the team was pulled in, one by one, into the black phenomenon.

As the ship traveled in this long black gateway, streaks of light were flying in both directions at a very high rate of speed. It was beautiful as the colored streaks of light traveled. Was this the same portal that Loom disappeared into a month ago? Will he be on the other side? These were the questions that the CEF thought about as they traveled through this portal. Frank’s console bleeped repeatedly, telling Frank to look at it.

"Brace yourself, we’re exiting the portal," ordered Frank to the rest of his team members. As they had entered, the team members exited one by one on the other side of the portal. As they reoriented themselves, they looked out the window to see the planet Corneria before them. It appeared that this portal was simply a location jump from Venom to Corneria.

"Sir," Jennie reported, "Something is strange here…"

"What is it, Jennie?"

Jennie took a breath and then stated, "This sounds odd, but we are not in our time?"

Frank seemed puzzled and asked, "You mean we just traveled through a time portal? WHEN are we, then?"

Jennie rapidly tapped buttons on her panel and replied, "It appears that it was a time gate sir. And judging my the atmospheric contents and planetary defense systems, we have gone about 50 years back in time!"

The entire team jumped with a surprised look, they couldn’t believe what they just heard.

"What about the portal itself, is it still open?" asked Frank, concerned that his team might not make it home.

Jennie checked her panel, then double checked, and reported, "I’m afraid not, sir!"

"What are our options?" asked Frank.

"We have none, sir. Unless…we go to Venom! That’s where the portal originated in our time," replied Jennie.

"It’s worth a shot!" Frank said as he started to switch course to planet Venom.

"Guys, I think we’ve been spotted," Ice said as he looked up, seeing planetary defense buoys moving in on their position.

Frank’s communicator came online as an automatic message was being played back. "UNIDENTIFIED VESSELS, THIS IS THE CORNERIAN DEFENSE NETWORK. IDENTIFY YOURSELVES OR BE FIRED UPON."

Frank activated his communicator to the CEF members on a private channel. "Since this is the past, the Cornerian Elite Force has not yet been created, so we must avoid these buoys. Attacking them will weaken the planet’s defense, which could possibly corrupt the timeline. And we certainly don’t want to corrupt the timeline! Evasive maneuvers!"

The CEF complied as they headed away from Corneria, but the defense buoys followed them. "YOU HAVE DISOBEYED OUR REQUEST, YOU WILL NOW BE FIRED UPON." The defense systems then started firing short laser blasts at the ships. These weapons were inferior to the CEF, but they still caused slight damage to the CEF. While the ships avoided many of the shots, they still got hit by a few of them. To the CEF’s surprise, the buoys chased them all the way to Katina! The buoys then broke off their chase as the CEF approached Katina.

"Why aren’t there any buoys here at Katina?" asked Chuck.

"Because during this time, the main focus of defense was on Corneria. But buoys should be put up in less than a year if the timeline runs unaffected," replied Frank.

Ice then said over the communicator, "Sir, I’m sorry to report that that weapon fire back there affected me more than I thought. My engines are shorting out. I must land on Katina for repairs."

Frank sighed and asked Jennie, "How much longer do we have, Jennie?"

"Plenty of time, sir. The portal was very stable, at least in our time it was. But there is uncertainty in whether or not the portal is even here in this time."

Frank sighed again and said, "Ok, let’s land. I sure hope that portal will be there when we get back!" Frank then led his team in the landing procedure.

•••••

General Pepper activated his communicator; soon afterward the image of Fox McCloud came up on the communicator screen.

"What’s up, General," asked Fox.

General Pepper responded, "We may have a potential situation here, Fox. A few minutes ago, the Cornerian Defense Network detected a fleet of 4 vessels virtually appearing out of nowhere. Take a look at this visual:" General pepper then tapped the panel next to his communicator and showed Fox the image of the four CEF vessels. "Do these vessels look familiar, Fox?"

Fox seems baffled by the images. "They look like Arwings, sir. Except they seem to have red G-Diffuser Systems instead of blue. Is this some new Venomian weapon?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Fox. They were headed for Venom, but then took a landing on Katina quite suddenly. They may have plans to disrupt your efforts to activate the Defense Network on Katina. Just keep an eye out for them, please."

"Will do, General," Fox said as he closed the communication channel.

•••••

Frank looked at the damaged part of Ice’s ship and sighed. "How are we going to get a replacement for this?"

Ice looked at it and said, "Are you sure we need to replace it?"

Frank irritatingly looked at Ice, held the piece in front of his face, and closed his fist. When it reopened, the damaged part was now a pile of dust, having the consistency of a dried up leaf.

"Yeah, I think we need a new one!"

Jennie then pointed out that they were near a civilization on Katina. Frank decided the only way to get a replacement was to head toward the structures. As they walked toward it, Frank hoped that they would find the part they needed.

Before long, the CEF camp upon the civilization, which looked mostly dilapidated except for the base at the center of the colony. Frank ordered the removal of the CEF badges from their jackets, as to help prevent attention to themselves. Along the way, the team stopped at the local merchants to see if, by some chance, the merchants had what they needed. But every shop so far had turned up empty. Then Frank heard a fight not far away.

Frank looked and saw a suspicious-looking character talking to a young female fox. They were arguing, but Frank couldn’t tell what about, so he moved in closer.

The female fox looked at the electronic device given to her by the suspicious person next to her. "This definitely is Venomian in design! What are you trying to pull?"

The suspicious character shed his robe, revealing that he was a venomian. The female fox gasped as the venomian talked into a hand-held communicator and said, "Our cover is blown, GO!"

Seconds later, venomians appeared from behind almost every building. The CEF reached into their pockets and pulled out their handguns to defend themselves from the weapon fire that came out of all directions soon afterward. The female fox and a handful of merchants also fired at the venomians with handguns and the number of enemies dramatically reduced in a matter of minutes. When there were very few enemies left, Frank ran to the other end of the "street" to see if the female fox was ok. He then saw a venomian sneak around her and point his gun at her.

Frank yelled, "Look Out!" to the female fox as he fired his gun at the venomian. The Female Fox looked behind herself to see a venomian being killed by Frank. The short skirmish was over, so Frank decided to make the best of the situation. He thought that maybe she could help him find the part the CEF needed since she could identify venomian technology. He then stood up, as the female fox stood up simultaneously.

Frank asked her, "Are you ok?"

The fox breathed deeply, brushing the dirt of herself, and replied, "Yes I am! Thank you! You saved my life!"

Frank smiled as he extended his hand. "I was just doing my job, protecting people! My name is Frank, Frank Enroc."

The female fox smiled back and gave Frank a handshake. "Thanks again! My name is Fana."

Frank gasped.

"Fana McCloud."

Frank slowed the handshake and said, "Lovely name!" Then he fainted.

He awoke in the same spot in which he had fainted, with Fana slapping him on the face, trying to get him to wake up. He also saw Chuck, Ice, and Jennie looking down at him.

"Are YOU ok?" Fana asked.

"I’m… not sure," Frank said as he climbed to his feet. Frank turned toward Fana and asked her, "Could you excuse me for a minute, I need to talk with my friends."

"Certainly," Fana said, "I’ll just be helping with the cleanup efforts." She then walked over to a few merchants trying to repair their shop.

Frank turned toward his team and said, "I think we have a unique here."

"Unique?" Jennie asked as she slapped Frank on the forehead, "You just saved the life of someone, which could destroy our timeline!"

Ice then mockingly quoted Frank, "We don’t want to corrupt the time line!"

Frank sighed and said, "Ok, so I made a mistake. I was just helping a person in need, which is part of our jobs. Besides, who says the timeline is corrupted?"

Chuck knocked on Frank’s head. "Hello? Are we missing something here? That woman is Fox McCloud’s sister! He wouldn’t have become general if she didn’t die!"

"Wait a minute! I was looking through the history files last night in an attempt to put myself to sleep! It didn’t say Fana DIED, it said she disappeared!" Frank said in defense.

Jennie then asked, "Ok then, Mr. Timeline Expert, how do you suggest we make her disappear then? Take her with us?"

Chuck, Ice, and Jennie all laughed as Frank got an idea. "Exactly!" Their laughter then stopped as Frank walked over toward Fana. "Fana, is there some place we can talk?"

Fana thought a moment and said, "Sure, there’s a bar right there." She then pointed to a nearby location as they walked toward it. Once they entered, it reminded Frank of the "G-Diffuser" bar back home. A waiter soon came up and asked for the orders from the group of five.

Frank said, "I’d like an ‘Andross Overflow,’ please."

The waiter gave Frank a baffled look as Fana said, "Just 5 Pandorian Ales, please." The waiter wrote down the order and headed off to get the drinks. Fana then looked puzzled and asked Frank, "What is an ‘Andross Overflow?’"

Frank replied, "Just a drink back home."

Fana nodded and then asked, "Where is that?"

Frank sighed and said, "Oh, before I answer that, are you good at identifying ship parts?"

Fana said, "Yeah, you must have seen how I handled that thing with the venomian!"

Frank then handed her the crumpled remains of Ice’s ship part and explained the situation. Fana listened and informed them that a little further down the way, there was a shop that sold those kind of parts. As their drinks arrived, Fana once again asked them where they were from.

Frank took a deep breath and said, "Not where, when?"

Fana looked puzzled as she sipped her drink.

Frank then told Fana, "I’m from about 50 years into what you would call the future. We came here through a strange portal we discovered around Venom. We arrived at Corneria, but 50 years before our time. We were chased by the defense buoys, which eventually crippled Ice Stryke’s ship and forced us to land. We’re just on our way back to Venom because we believe that there lies our ticket to our home time. We just need that part to head off."

Fana just burst out laughing when she heard this. "Oh, my! That is the lamest story I ever heard!" Fana continued to laugh, almost hysterically.

Frank said, "It’s no joke, and there is something else…"

Fana calmed herself down and asked, "What is that?"

Frank sighed and said, "You need to come with us!"

Fana replied, "Excuse me?"

Frank said, "According to history, you were almost killed by a venomian attack on this day, then you disappeared. The only way we can successfully do that is to take you with us."

Fana said, "How do I know this isn’t just some weird trick?"

Frank said, "I’m afraid you don’t you’ll just have to trust me! Why don’t you come take a look at our ships to prove that they are Cornerian in design?"

Fana gave Frank a look, which signaled that she did not believe him. Frank decided that the team needed to get the part.

"Jennie," Frank asked, "would you please talk to Fana? We need her to disappear, just like in the original timeline, so she’ll have to come with us!"

"No Problem," said Jennie as Frank, Ice, and Chuck went to the merchant to get the replacement part. When they returned Jennie had ordered more ale, Frank knew what she was up to – to get Fana too drunk to know anything.

Frank pleaded, "Please, you have to believe me! We have to protect the time line!"

Fana said in a drunk tone, "Time line? Do we have enough time to argue about time?" Fana then took a breath and said, "Actually I am believing you now, but it’s just that I’d leave so much behind! Not to mention my friends: Scooter, Claudia, Lira… Not to mention my husband, Jet, and my son, James!"

Frank thought a moment and then said, "I don’t know what to tell you, but we really do need you to come with us!"

Fana took a deep breath, and went with the team toward their ships. Fana took the back seat to Frank’s ship. Frank knew Fana was still intoxicated, otherwise she wouldn’t have agreed as easily.

Frank turned around and said, "Thank you!" as the ships took off.

Fox came running out of the base, panicking about the Venomian attack. He heard from the civilians that she disappeared in the plains, in the direction of the EF ships. Fox then looked up and asked, "Why would she go? She has so much here!"

Peppy came up behind him and said, "Fox there are just some things in this universe that we are not meant to understand."

Fox looked toward the sky and said, "Someday, I will find her, Peppy! Someday!"

Falco laughed and said, "While you’re at it, why don’t you replace General Pepper when he resigns!" Falco continued to laugh as Fox just kept looking toward the sky.

•••••

The route to Venom was quite easy, since it was left basically a graveyard from previous attacks on Venom. Jennie scanned the vicinity and saw a large black portal ahead of her. Frank warned Fana about the slightly bumpy ride as the team returned through the portal. The slight disturbances quickly ended as they came out of the portal, again, near Corneria. After confirming that they were back in their native time, they landed their ships in the docking bay.

An announcement resonated over the intercom:

"ICE STRYKE, PRIORITY ONE MESSAGE COMING IN FOR YOU, CODED PERSONAL."

Ice seemed baffled as the rest of the team headed for Fox McCloud’s office. After passing the entrance into Fox’s office, Frank reported about the disturbance being a time portal.

"Did you find Loom?" Fox asked.

"No sir, but we did bring something else back…"

Fox looked confused as a young female fox walked into the office. Fox’s eyes opened wide. "Fana!" Fana gave a surprised look at how old her brother now was as the two hugged in this reunion. It was definitely a moment to remember.

"It seem, sir, that we apparently were meant to go back in time, history went exactly how we did," Frank said watching the two McCloud’s reunite. Unfortunately it didn’t look like they were listening.

Ice then came in, took the CEF badge from his pocket, and lied it down on Fox’s desk.

"Ice? What are you doing?" asked Frank.

Ice sighed and said, "Something personal has happened, and I’m afraid that as a result, I can no longer serve the military. I’m sorry."

Frank said, "No, Ice. You’re probably just speaking out of sadness for whatever happened!" Ice simply shook his head and walked out of the office.

After a week, Ice’s leave was still a shock to the team. It was just so sudden! He hadn’t come back after that week so the CEF needed a new member. Fana was so happy to realize that her feelings about Frank telling the truth were correct. She had been offered to take a position on the Cornerian Elite Force. She knew mostly about the advanced operations since she once owned a souped-up Arwing. Fox even tried to beat her at a game of "Lock-On Tag" which he lost, but he just blamed it on his age.

Fana then went to her room that night and activated her communication system. Moments later, an image of an elderly fox appeared on the screen. Fana knew exactly who it was.

"Hello, Jet."

Jet looked baffled then asked, "Hello, young woman, what can I do for you? By the way, are you related to someone named Fana McCloud? You look just like her!"

Fana sighed and said, "I am her."